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The Black Shroud – land of elezens, hyurs and two beast tribes of Eorzea. His next target in his long and exciting journey to become one of the greatest adventurers Eorzea had ever seen.
Hoary hummed happily through a good bite of meat he had purchased in Camp Traquil's inn, followed by a large gulp of ale. Coming from his quests around Thanalan, he had found his way towards the South Shroud easily, following a fellow that required some bodyguard work for some considerable amount of gil. One of the many roles he was eager to fulfill, if only to give him better knowledge of the lands away from his home.
While he ate, he watched the folks around the small camp talking and eating and working – many elezens, hyurs, a few miqo'tes, almost no roes, something that did make him more excited. He loved meeting new people, new costumes, and even though he knew the people from Gridania weren't completely open for strangers, he hoped he could make an effort and get them to like him.
Finishing off his meal, Hoary stood up from his stool and headed over to the bar, handing the pocket of gil to pay for his stay and the food he had acquired in the last two days, before fixing the shield on his back and making his way out into the swampy lands. He looked around, searching for any possible client or situation he could help with, but seeing nothing, he asked some directions and headed north, to a place called Buscarron's Druthers, where he had heard many adventurers passed by to get some quests, requirements and missions.
He watched the surrounding areas with curiosity, humming to himself and making sure not to attract unwanted attention as he passed by, the pathway filled with animals, plants and monsters the like, some aggressive and some passive. He made the way up with no troubles, the trip not lasting more than a few hours, arriving at the inn and requesting for any assistance he could give.
"So you are the roegadyn I have been hearing so much about" the tavern owner, sir Buscarron himself, said as Hoary requested work by the counter, making his eyes widen at being recognized. "I receive many costumers coming from Thanalan to Gridania, and more than a few have been coming with stories about a kid that has been adventuring all around Eorzea."
"Well, I'm no kid, but if my deeds are already arriving in other places I cannot but be happy with my work" Hoary said, opening a grinning smile to the man that just chuckled and offered him an ale, on the house.
"If you are looking for work, you came to the right place. Not only my costumers are looking for some employees, but I heard Gridania herself is in need for some new adventurers that are willing to help her resolve some issues. As you probably know, beastmen have been very active as of late and many monsters keep appearing around the Shroud. If you head over to the city, I believe the adventurer's guild will receive you with praises."
"I see! Well, I won't let you or any Gridania citizen down" Hoary assured, smiling and raising his glass before taking large gulps of his ale. He sighed contently, enjoying the rest of the drink in peace, before walking around the establishment looking for a job or two in the south shroud before he moved further north – he liked to know well all the regions around Eorzea before he moved to the next.
After a few days of usual, easy tasks – taking provisions to other camps, aiding some guards defeat certain foes, collecting meat and skin for some people – he found himself face to face with a grumpy Hyur woman that seemed not only frustrated but impatient as well. He approached her by the suggestion of an elezen he had just finished business with, and sitting by her table, he called her attention.
"Ma'am?" he asked, and she turned to face him with a scowl on her face. "The man over there, I just did a task for him and he directed me to you, so I could help with your situation. If you so wish, of course."
"What are you? One of those useless archers or conjurers that like to work around the Shroud and leave us hanging?" she asked, angrily, before she took a notice of his armor and hummed. "You are not from here, are you?"
"No, am I not. I am a Paladin, or rather, am trying to become one" he smiled, showing her his sword. "I am sure whatever problem you are facing, I can handle just fine."
"Well... I believe then that you might be useful somehow" she said, watching him for a moment. "You see I am an old alchemist, and for the past two weeks I have been recruiting adventurers like you to go after a Morbol down in the Roostlake to extract its poison for me and bring over. Most adventurers said no, and the ones that accepted came back empty handed. It is important, you see, because it isn't the poison of those simple Morbols that wonder around in the swamp, no, it is one that hides in a cave by the east of Camp Tranquil, all the way close to the forest. It is huge, three times the size of a normal one, and its poison is strong. The last adventurer that accepted my request left a day a go, and I am not putting my faith on him, poor elezen boy. A conjurer you see, great for healing but not so good in fighting. If you could head over there, get the job done, I will be most appreciative. I will give you a thousand gil for your troubles."
"You got yourself an adventurer ma'am" Hoary grinned, standing up immediately and bowing to her. She gave him the flask where he should get the poison and he left excitedly, calling for his chocobo and making his way down south back to the swamp areas. All the way east, she said, in a cave. Very well. The sky was starting to darken when he arrived at the swamp, and he wondered if he should wait until morning, but decided to at least get a look on the monster before waiting. He made his way carefully to the east side, looking around and finding the entrance to a cave that would be around a three times sized Morbol, and moved inside, leaving his chocobo at the entrance.
The inside of the cave was dark, hot and moist, not unlike the region next to it. He took his sword and shield out, hearing some sounds coming from further inside, and slowly made his way in, wondering if that adventurer the woman had talked about was still in there, fighting the monster.
If it had been a day... he surely hadn't given up yet.
Going further inside the cave, Hoary discovered that indeed the adventurer had not yet given up, and was still fighting with the monster – it was all dark around them, specially now that the sun was setting, a few torches lit up probably by the adventurer to be able to see his target. Hoary could barely see more than the silhouettes of the monster, towering over the elezen, and the spells the conjurer was casting, one after the other, provoking a small shine of aether every time it hit.
The Morbol growled and screeched as it was attacked and attacked back, vines waving from side to side, poison being spilled out of its flowery head. Hoary remained behind a rock for a while as the conjurer casted more spells, a stone rising from the ground and hitting the Morbol from below, and then a gust of wind that made the monster screech louder. A vine wiped from left to right and Hoary heard the elezen gasp, the vine hitting him and sending him flying a few fulms away. Hoary was ready to intervene, taking a few steps towards the monster, but the elezen stood up and healed himself, getting into the offensive again, jumping away from one of the attacks and attacking the Morbol again.
It was clear by the sounds he was hearing that the elezen was tired, and probably wounded beyond his healing spells could manage. He kept panting, groaning and gasping, all while the Morbol did not seem worst for wear, maybe a little slower but not enough to be defeated all that easy. Hoary wondered for a while if the elezen would be angry at the help, since he seemed determined to grind his way out of the battle alone, but he decided that perhaps he could just allow him to stay with the reward and he wouldn't be so offended. So, he readied himself and rushed in, slashing a vine with his sword as it waved to attack the elezen from behind.
"What-!" he said, surprised at the new adventurer, but Hoary ignored his surprise, giving him a grin in the dim fire light.
"Watch my back!" he yelled, slicing the monster's middle and jumping back before focusing on his target, using his aether to call its attention. The Morbol turned to him, screeching, and Hoary grinned from ear to ear before slashing his sword, protecting himself with his shield, sliding the sword into the monster's stomach-area and quickly pulling away.
Either the elezen did not mind the intrusion or simply did not have any energy to speak against him, and Hoary did not mind either way, his mind now focused on the battle ahead. He slashed, blocked and jumped away from attacks, his ability clearly improving ever since he left his home. Suddenly, a cloud of spores made its way down the monster's flower head and he coughed, slashing and blocking with less efficiency, feeling the poison in his body making him sick. The sensation, however, did not last more than a second or two, and suddenly he felt great, and looked around to see the elezen staring at him, giving him a nod, staff turned to his direction. A moment later and he was casting something towards the Morbol again, and Hoary grinned, excited, slashing and cutting and stabbing all he could, blocking attacks and being healed when he failed.
It was an exciting battle, surely, and by the time the Morbol had fallen, he was tired and ready for a good night of rest. Forgetful as he was, it wasn't until the elezen approached the monster with his flask that he remembered the reason he was here.
"I have one too" he said, rushing to the conjurer's side and offering his flask. He nodded silently and filled them both with the Morbol's poisonous blood, before placing his back in his bag and handing the flask back to Hoary. "You can keep my share."
"Why?" the elezen asked, seeming confused, his eyebrows furrowing a little. Hoary smiled, shrugging a little.
"Well because you were handling yourself well and I rushed in without asking, it was not fair of me, so you can keep the reward no worries."
"Handling myself well? I'm exhausted, I wasn't able to finish this Morbol in two days" he sighed, rubbing his eyes, and now closer to him Hoary could see the bags under his eyes. "If it wasn't for your help I would have probably died."
"You could always give up" he shrugged, and the conjurer stared at him, daggers in his eyes.
"I do not give up."
Hoary stayed silent as the elezen stood up, shaking the dirt off and handing the flask back to him. He took it and followed the elezen outside the cave, watching as he looked over himself – under the light of the moon, Hoary could see blood and cuts on his robe, his hair dirty and messy. As he walked towards the camp nearby, Hoary followed, his chocobo coming after him. A few steps later and the elezen all but collapsed, groaning and making him rush to his aid.
"Maybe I should take you to the inn" he offered, the conjurer giving him another angry look before he tried to stand, his legs shaking, and fell again. "Have you eaten anything in the last day? You are trembling."
"I... don’t remember" he mumbled, closing his eyes and sighing. "maybe I could... use the help."
"Take this" Hoary took out some bread and water from his bag, giving it to him. The elezen gave him a nod and sipped on the water, eating a piece of the bread, and then Hoary coaxed his chocobo to lower down. "Come on, hop on Linda."
"Linda?" he asked, looking at the chocobo and chuckling. "Alright. Thank you."
"You're welcome" Hoary assured, helping him on his chocobo, allowing him to drink and eat while he guided the animal back to Camp Tranquil where they could rest. He requested two rooms and paid beforehand, helping the elezen go inside and smiling when he was able to stand up on his own. "I can see the rest and food helped you."
"Yes... thank you" he said, looking at Hoary unsure, making the roegadyn smile. "Um... my name is Coultenet... in case you were wondering."
"I wasn't. But my name is Hoary Boulder!" he said proudly, pointing his thumb to himself. "Well I will leave you to rest, make sure to sleep and relax. Tomorrow we can talk."
"I..." he started and then shut up, giving Hoary a nod. He left and made his way out of the room, heading to his own, ready to take a nice warm shower and sleep far into the morning. He washed himself on the bath and dried up before falling down on the bed and being pulled into sleep almost instantly.
It was what a good battle did to him.
It was almost midday when he woke up, yawning and stretching in his bed, too small for his large body but it did well, it was comfy. He stood up, bathed and got dressed, heading down to the tavern and smiling when he saw Coultenet on a table, drinking. Hoary rushed to the counter, requesting a sandwich and some hot coffee, and took his food towards the table, sitting in front of his new friend.
"Good morning, Coultenet" he said, grinning, taking a gulp from his coffee and humming. "Did you rest?"
"Yes" he said, sipping on his drink, a book open in front of him. He seemed unwilling to look at Hoary, eyes fixated on the words underneath him, but he did not mind, enjoying the cold air coming through the door, humming around the piece of sandwich he was eating. "Hoary Boulder, is it?"
"Yeah that's my name" he nodded, smiling at the elezen. He was uncertain, eyes shifting up and down, and then looked up.
"I know I thanked you yesterday but... I feel like I should thank you again" he said, his voice quiet, just above a whisper. Hoary always knew elezens were closed, most of the time keeping their thoughts and emotions to themselves, cold and certain. So he did not say anything, just waited. "You may keep my flask, and get the reward – the twelve know I would have not defeated the Morbol wasn't for you and... well... just keep it."
"You would have defeated it just fine, I just gave you some help" Hoary shook his head, and raised his hand when Coultenet opened his mouth. "Now, if you don't want to keep it, we could always share. And perhaps you could help me get to know the Black Shroud, I just arrived here and I know nothing about the region."
"I do not know... I am a conjurer and I was determined to make my way alone" he said, uncertain, and Hoary nodded slowly.
"I understand, so did I in the beginning, but having friends along the way makes things easier. Anyway, we should get going back to Quarrymill to get our reward, and we can decide from there. My next stop is the Central Shroud, if you could help me get to know the place at least?"
"I could, I was born and raised around these woods" Coultenet nodded, closing his book and putting it back inside his bag. "Well, I suppose we could make a small partnership, at least while you and I are around the same region. I was going to head to Thanalan but I don't believe I am quite ready yet."
"Take your time" he said, smiling to him with a thumbs' up. "Now, we should go and get our reward, she promised me a thousand gil."
"She promised me the same" he chuckled and nodded. "Let us go, there is no time to wait. New quests and missions await."
With a new resolve and a smile on both their faces, they headed out to collect their bounty, decided to continue their small partnership, receiving 600 gil each for their troubles. They accepted the share and left, heading to the Central Shroud together, at least for the time being.